Knitting machine



Oct. 8, 1940. M; c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE |NVENTOR By" A o l3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 18, 1934 Oct. 8, 1940. M. c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1934 13 Speets-Sheet 2 NV NTOR Z AfiORNEYS Oct. 8, 1940. M. c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE 15 Shets-Sheet 5 Filed May 18, 1934 O ct. 8,1940. M, c, MILLER 2,217,520

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1934 13 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR if ('f 2 z Oct. 8, 1940.

M. c. MILLER 2,217,520

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1954 l3 Sheets-Sheet 5 mvsmog F W a 9 9w ATTO EYS Oct. 8, 1940.

M. c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1934 HIIIIHIHII IIIIIII'IIIHIIIIIIHWT 13 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

l3 Sheets-Sheet 7 1:; 7 v M TSRNEYS;

Oct. 8, 1940. M. c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1934 Oct. 8, 1940.

M. c. MILLER 2,217,520

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 19 34 13 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR.

7"? QZTTORNE O 8, 1940- M. c. MILLER 2,217,520

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1954 1:5 she ts-sheepal WI! II I "W INVENTO BY 24 /4Mm z ATTO NEYS 2 Oct. 8, 1940. M c, 2,217,520

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1934 7 l3 Sheets-Sheet 1O Fly. 33

I IwTORK Z BY 06L 8, 19 0- M. c. MILLER I 2,217,520

KNITTING mourns Filed May 18, 1954" 13 Sheets-Sheet 11 YINVENTOR WCM m BY 7d! W Oct. 8, 1940.

M. C. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1934 l3 Sheets-Sheet 12 L L L INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Filed May 18, 1934 lssl'leets-sl'leet l3 Fig.56

Fig.59

50 the fabric.

Patented Oct. 8, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,217,520 V KNITTING MACHINE v Max 0. Miller, Cumberland, R. .L, assignor to Knitting Machines Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application May is, 1934, Serial No. 726,285

102 Claims.

The present invention relates to knitting machines, and is more particularly concerned with the provision of a novel and improved mechanism adapted for use with a flat full-fashioned, Cotton type or similar machine for the forming of a may be applied as a separate unit to commercial machines, and substantially without change to the existing mechanisms in these machines to secure an emcient cooperation of these instrumentalities with the needles and their cooperating knitting elements toturn the welt.

It is another object of the present invention to further improve theconstruction and, operation of the cooperating mechanisms for turning the welt to produce a machine which will be more fully automatic in operation than any heretofore produced and will operate substantially without any attention from the operator.

v It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new' and improved method of coordinating the operation of series of loop taking instrumentalities with the needles and their cooperating knitting elements to take a setting-up course of needle wale loops on said instrumentalities, and for thereafter drawing these loops to the backs of the needles during the subsequent knitting of the fabric.

With these and other objects in view, as may hereinafter appear, a principal feature of the present invention consists in the provision in a flat full-fashioned knitting machine employing spring beard needles and sinkers to sink the yarn about the needle shanks, of a series of instrumentalities arranged for movement relatively to the needles to engage with and lift from alternate needles kinks of yarn sunk about the needle shanks to form a setting-up course of needle wale loops for These instrumentalities operate during the knittlngof subsequent courses to tension the fabric loops to the backs of-the needles, and are further arranged upon the completion of the'welt portion of the fabric for movement relatively to the needles to return the loops held thereon to the needles; I Theseinstrumentalities comprise hook elements having their shank portions when in operative position arranged to extend substantially parallel to the needle shanks, and provided each with two hooks or cheeks which are adapted to extend to either side of the shank of the cooperating needle, and are provided with tapered tips which are bent inwardly around and to the rear of the needle shank. These instrumentalities areconstructed and arranged to permit them to be moved downwardly between the press edge and the needles, in their-high position, then to be forced or snapped into position with the cheeks extending as above described around and to the rear of the needle shanks, and thereafter, to be lifted with relation to the needles to engage with and lift bights of yarn kinked' thereon off the needles and clear of the needle beards. In order to facilitate the return of the loops to the needles, the hook instrurnentalitiesreferred' to, are provided on their under sides and between the cheek portions with guiding surfaces so that they may be placed over the rising needles to cause the needle'tips to rise between the cheeks and through the loops held thereon.

With the construction and mode of operation of the hook instrumentalities herein described, it will be seen that these instrumentalities are located for both the loop taking. and return opersurely into proper relationship. I

The instrumentalities for taking and for returning the loops to the needles, are mounted on a swinging frame or hanger which is pivotally mounted on horizontal supporting. lever arms which are in turn secured to a rock shaft, so that the hooks may move freely toward and away from the press edge with the pendulum-like movement of the frame, and may be moved vertically into and out of position with relation to the needles with the vertical movement of the supportin levers on their rock shaft above referred to. In order to insure an accurate register of the hooks between the sinkersv and web holders, and to insure the'proper' cooperation of thehooks with the needles; the hooks are rigidly mounted on a bar or carriage which is supported on the frame to permit a limited lateral movement of the bar and hooks, and is accurately registered with relation to the machine as theframe and hooks are moved r into cooperating relationship to the knitting elements, by means of guide plates which are adapted to engage with corresponding surfaces fixed on the machine frame.

In order to impart the required movements to the hooks, both in a vertical direction and horizontally toward and away from the press, an additional cam shaft timed to rotatein unison with the main cam shaft,'is mounted above the table of the machine, and is provided along its length with operating cams for controlling the cooperating movements of the hanger or frame provided with each individual section.

The assembly of the hangersupport for the hooks above described, and. the auxiliary cam shaft mounted adjacent thereto, combines with a high degree of control and rigidity of the parts, the greatest possible mobility and ease of movement in the desired directions which it is believed possible to obtain. The hanger, free to swing with a pendulum-like movement from above, provides the least possible resistance to the rapid vibratory take-up movements required to follow the in and out movements of the needles, since the weight and frictional loss of a existing chain control of the machine to automatically cause the welt attachment to function at the required times. Furthermore, the new mechanism is extremely simple and compact in construction, and is located on the machine to avoid any possible interference with the movements of the operator or with existing parts of the machine. 1

Cam operated means controlled from the usual pattern chain of the machine, are provided for imparting lengthwise movement to the secondary cam shaft in opposite directions from an intermediate neutral position to set in operation ap propriate cams for controlling both the vertical and swinging movements of the frame and hooks to take and to return the loops to the needles to complete the turning of the welt.

In order toinsure the emcignt and accurate operation of the several cooperating mechanisms to cause the hook instrumentalities to be moved into position between the press edge on the one hand and the needles and yarn kinked about the shanks thereof. on the other hand, and thereafter to engage and remove loops from alternate needles, certain changes and improvements in the operation of a full-fashioned machine of the type herein generally described, have been found necessary These changes involve a new mode of operation-of the several cooperating elements,

together with a number of mechanical improvements to insure the most efiicient operation of the cooperating parts.

One improvement contemplated in the mode of operation of the machine consists in a movement of the yarn carrier from its usual'stop position on the right to the left side of the machine to lay the yarn on the ,nibs of the sinkers and thus to remove the yarn carrier prior to the operation of the slur-sock to advance the jack sinkers and sink yarn about the needle shanks. In this manner a sufficient amount of time is provided to permit the movement of the hook elements between the press edge on the one hand, and the needles and new yarn on the other hand at the completion of the slur-cock movement and before the needles have been moved downwardly to form the first course.

With this mode of operation it will be evident that the kinked yarn must be held tightly about the needle shanks by the sinkers in order to prevent possible engagement of the yarn by the hooks during their downward movement, with resulting breakage or misplacing of the yarn. In accordance with the present invention, novel and improved means are provided in the form of a jack sinker bar which is tripped into action at the end of the slur-cock movement across the section to engage with and hold all of the jack sinkers yieldingly in their extreme forward position against the verge plate, so that the kinked yarn is held closely against the needle shanks and out of the path of the downwardly moving hooks.

In view of the extremely limited space available for the cooperative movements of the needles and hooks between the sinker and knockover elements totake the initial needle Wale loops which are to form the initial course of the welt portion of the fabric from the needles, and in order to avoid possible interference of the needle beards with the sides of the hook instru-. mentalities during the relative downward move ment of the needles and upward movement of the hooks, mechanism is herein provided for varying the usual needle motion at this point to cause the needles to be moved an abnormal distance away from the press edge, so that the hooks are entirely disengaged or snapped ofi from the needle shanks with the loops held thereon before they have reached the relatively thick eye portions of the needles. Inasmuch as the movement-of the needles during this portion of the knitting cycle is ordinarily controlled by means of a regular motion adjustable to determine the length of stitch, one feature ofthe present invention consists in the provision of mechanism for suspending the operation of this adjustment to permit a movement of the needles away from thepress after the completion of the yarn sinking operation a considerably greater distance than would otherwise be permitted by the contours of the cams to disengage the needles from the hooks.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, mechanism is provided which is controlled from the pattern chain of the machine to place in active operation a welt wire which may be of ordinary description and is attached to a secondary take-up, so that the function of taking up the fabric is transferred after the knitting of a few initial courses from the hanger and welt hooks supported thereon, to the welt wire and secondary take-up, which then operate during the continued knitting and subsequent return of the initial welt loops to the needles to draw the fabric beneath and to the rear of the hanger and hooks.

The several features of the present invention consist also in the devices, combinations and arrangement of parts, and also in the steps of the method hereinafter described and claimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one skilled l i l in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a cross section looking from the left, of a flat full-fashioned, Cotton type knitting machine, only so much of the machine having been illustrated as is necessary to show the connection of the present invention therewith; Fig. 2 is'a fragmentary sectional view of the chain control mechanism; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the upper portion of the left hand end of the machine showing two of the knitting sections; Fig. 4 is an end view cross section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end view showing the welt hook bar swung upwardly to inactive position; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary end view illustrating in detail one of the cam rollers and its mounting; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the jack sinker bar control mechanism taken on line of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a rear elevation illustrating particularly the turn welt and jack sinker bar mechanism extending over two sections; Fig. 9 is a broken large scale front elevation of the welt hook bar and support; Fig. 10 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 9; Fig. 11

I is a fragmentary plan view of parts shown in Figs.

9 and 10; Fig. 12 is a front elevation showing the loose course and welt turning mechanism chain control; Fig. 13 is a fragmentary plan view of the jack sinker barshown in Fig. 4; Fig. 14 shows the cams used to give the hook bar of the turn welt mechanism its in and out and idling movements; Fig. 15 shows the cams used to give the hook bar of the turn weltmechanism its up and down movements; Figs. 16 to 34 inclusive are fragmentary end views showing the position of the knitting elements and the welt hooks during the various stages of setting up and during subsequent welt fabric knitting, in which Fig. 16 shows the welt hooks going into position prior to their engagement with the needles just prior to the setup; Fig. 17 shows the welt hooks as having engaged with the needles prior to engaging with the initial yarn of the setting-up course;. Fig. 18

shows the welt hooks engaging with yarn of the setting-up course; Fig. 19 shows the welt hooks engaging with the yarn of the setting-up course prior to the dividers moving into their forward position; Fig. 20 shows the welt hooks engaging with the setting-up course, with the dividers in their forward position and the needles as having moved downwardly and away from the hooks; Fig. 21 shows the welt hooks engaged with the yarn of the welt course, with the needles moved,

downwardly and toward the hooks; Fig. 22 shows thehooks engaged with the yarn of the initial welt course, with the needles moved downwardly; Fig. 23 shows the hooks engaged with the yarn of the initial welt course, with the needles moved downwardly and the hooks upwardly; Fig. 24 shows the hooks engaged with the initial welt course, with the needles moved downwardly to the press position; Fig. 25 shows the hooks engaged with the initial welt course, with the needles moved downwardly and slightly away from the press; Fig. 26 shows the hooks engaged with the initial welt course, with the needles and hooks moved downwardly away from the press edge of the machine; Fig. 27 is a continuation of the movements noted in Fig. 26; Fig. 28 is a continuation of the movement shown in Figs. 26 and 27, with the needles in position just prior to their return movement in a direction toward the press; Fig. 29 shows the needles as having moved toward the press edge of the machine with the welt hooks engaged with the initial welt or setting-up course; Fig. 30 shows the needles having moved still further toward the press edge, with the welt lower than in Fig. 29; Fig. 31 shows ,the needles moving upwardly, getting into position for the second course, with the welt hooks engaged with the setting-up course, the hooks standing at the back of the needles, with the setting-up course held down by the sinker noses; Fig. 32 shows the needles fully raised, ready to have the second course of yarn kinked around them, with the welt hooks still engaged with the setting-up course and standing at the back of the needles; Fig. 33 shows the relationship of the elements, after a part of the welt has been knitted, with the, welt hooks having taken up the fabric as it was produced by moving away from the needles; and Fig. 34 shows the elements with more welt fabric knitted, with the hooks in a fixed intermediate position and with the welt rod which has been automatically inserted, now acting as the fabric take-up means; Figs. 35 to 46 inclusive are fragmentary end views showing the position of the knitting elements and the welt hooks during the various stages of transferring the setting-up course back to the needles, in which'Fig. 35 shows the welt hooks moving toward the needles and being lifted clear of the underlying welt fabric and selvages, during which movement the sinkers are moving toward the needles to kink yarn for the course preceding the transfer; Fig. 36 shows thecourse of yarn, preceding the transfer, on the nose of .the sinkers, withthe welt hooks moving toward the needles; Fig. 37 shows the course prior to the transfer just before it is formed into loops by the downward movement of the needles, with the welt hooks moved still further toward the needles; Fig. 38 shows the course of yarn, prior to the transfer, as having been formed into-loops, by the knockover bits, after the welt hooks have passed the needles in the movement of the hooks toward the press edge of the machine; Fig. 39 shows the needles and the Welt hooks moving toward the press edge of the machine, with the hooks ahead' of the needles; Fig. 40 shows the welt hooks as they reached and contacted with the press edge of the machine, with the needles continuing to move in that direction; Fig. 41 shows the needles at their farthest movement toward the press edge and the welt hooks resting against the press edge, with the hooks of the needles engaging with the welt hooks; Fig. 42 shows the hooks still against the press edge, but slightly lower than in Fig. 41, with the needles raised, having therefore passed through the setting-up course held by the welt hooks; Fig. 43 shows the hooks still against the press edge, but in a lower position, so that the setting-up loops with which they were engaged are cast off the hooks onto the needles; Fig. 44 shows the needles moved upward and away from the press, with the hooks in position after they have commenced their upward motion; Fig. 45 shows the needles as having continued to move upwardly and away from the press, with the welt hooks also moved upwardly; and Fig.46 shows the needles at the end of their upward movement, with the welt hooks in various stages of being lifted over the needles and with the sinkers fully retracted prior to the laying of the yarn for the next course; Figs. 47 to 54 inclusive are enlarged fragmentary plans, in partial-course section, showing the sinkers, needles and welt hooks in their various positions during the setting-up and transfer, inwhich Fig. 47 shows the initial welt or setting-up yarn engaged by the jack sinkers, with the hooks in about the position shown in Fig. 16; Fig. 48 showsthe welt hooks engaged at alternate needles with the setting-up yarn about as shown in Fig. 18; Fig. 49 shows the welt hooks engage'd with the setting-up course prior to the movement of the dividers between the needles, the elements including the welt hooks being about as shown in Fig. 19; Fig. 50 shows the hooks engaged with the setting-up course and the'dividers fullyprojected, with the elements including the welt hooks about as shown in Fig. 21 Fig. 51 shows the welt hooks engaged with the setting-up course, the dividers fully projected, with alternate needles flexed against the setting-up yarn, all the elements being about as shown in Fig. 21; Fig. 52 shows the elements in about the position shown in Fig. 23, with every other needle about to cast off the setting-up yarn; Fig. 53 shows the elements about in the position shown in Fig. 24,after every other needle has cast off its yarn and with alternate needles engaged with the setting-up yarn; Fig. 54 shows the hooks at the back of the needles with the setting-up yarn in the hooks and around alternate needles, the elements being in about the position shown in Fig. 32; Fig. 55 is an enlarged partial front elevation, showing the elements in aboutthe position shown in Fig. 29, with the setting-up yarn in the welt hooks and in the hooks of alternate needles; Fig..56 is an enlarged plan view of the fabric as it would appear after the third course of the welt fabric has been knitted, showing the welt hooks and the needle shanks in cross section; Fig. 5'7 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the needles, hooks and sinkers and set-up yarn in a position relative to each other about as shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 58 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional plan showing the transfer of the loops held on the hooks back to the needles,

and corresponds substantially to Fig. 43; Fig. 59

shows an enlarged perspective view of the welt hooks; Fig. 60 is an end view cross section of the stitch regulator and loose course cam taken on line 60-60 of Fig. 12; and Fig. 61 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 6I-6I of Fig. 12.

The machine disclosed in the drawings as embodying in a preferred form the several features of the present invention, comprises a fiat fullfashioned knitting machine of the Cotton type having a number of sections, each of which comprises a series of spring beard needles which are given vertical reciprocatory movements to pull down the loops, andlateral movements toward and away from a fixed pressing surface to close the needle beard and cast off the old loops, together with the usual cooperating sinkers and knockover bits common to this type of machine. The machine is provided along its length with frames I00 as best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 12, a frame of this type being provided between each two sections of the machine. These frames support bearings for the several driving and control shafts extending for the most part throughout the length of the machine, including specifically the main drive shaft, I02, the hand wheel shaft I04, the knockover bit shaft I06, the presser shaft I08, the needle bar shaft I I0, the front catch bar and jack spring shaft II2, the back catch bar shaft H4, and the back narrowing shaft H6, and also have secured thereto the back rail I I8, the sinker rail I20, the front rail I22, and the table I24. The cam shaft I02 is rotated in the direction of the arrow Fig. 1, there being rigidly fastened thereto the cams for causing the various roller levers with which the cams are associated, to move the different parts of the machine. On the table I24 which extends. throughout the machine length, there are fastened at intervals the upwardly extending secondary cam shaft brackets I26 (Figs. 3 and 4), one between each two sections. As shown in the drawings, and more particularly in Fig. 3, there is fastened to the table I24 at the left hand end of the machine, a somewhat similar bracket I28 to which is fastened an end bracket I30 for support ing the left hand end of the secondary cam shaft. In the brackets I26 and I30 there is supported, free to rotate and free to move endwise, the secondary'cam shaft I32 which rotates in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, in unison with the regular cam shaft I02, a chain or other suitable form of connecting drive being used, as for instance the sprocket chain I03 indicated in dotand-dash lines in Fig. 4 passing over similar sprockets mounted on the shafts I02 and I32 respectively.

The secondary cam shaft I32 has rigidly fastened to it at the left hand end of the machine, a shift cam disk I34 for shifting the cam shaft to the right, as when going into the set-up, and a shift cam disk I36 for shifting the cam shaft to the left, as when about to transfer the setting-up course back to the needles.

The bracket I28 supports a cam shaft shift lever I38 rigidly fastened to a pin I40 which is free to turn in the bracket I28. Supported in the upper end of the shift lever I38 is the roller I42 rotating freely on a pin I44. A locking-out roller I46 mounted free to rotate on a pin I48 fixedly fastened to the shift lever I38, permits the cam I50, adjustably fastened to the shift cam I34, to move the shift lever and its roller I42 outward, so that the neutralizing cams I52 and I54 can shift the cam shaft I32 to a position central between its right and left positions.

Fastened rigidly to the right hand end of the pin I40 is a shift lock lever I56 (Fig. 1). A shift latch I58 contacts with the surface I60 of this lever I56, thereby holding the shift lever I38 in its outward or neutralized position, the latch I58 being mounted free to fulcrum on the fixedly positioned pin I62. A spring I64 holds the acting end of the latch I58 down against a stop I66. The other end of the latch I58 is connected by means of a link I68 with one arm of a pattern chain actuated lever I10, see Fig. 12. The chain lever I10 is free to turn on a pivot I12 mounted in a bracket I14 rigidly fastened to the front rail I22 of the machine. An upwardly extending arm of the chain lever I10 has an end I16 so that suitably positioned and differing height chain bumps I18 can pull the link I68 downwardly and so can raise the end of the latch I58 (Fig. 1) where it contacts with-the lever I56 in one of two positions, a low bump causing it to contact with the surface I80, and a high bump causing it to contact with the surface I82 on the lever I56. A tension spring I84 positions the lever I56 as may be dictated by the movement of the latch I58. When the latch I58 is raised, the spring I84 causes the shift lock lever I56 to contact the latch with its I surface, the cam shaft shift lever I38 with its roller I42 thereby moving in a direction toward the cam shaft I32, so that its roller will be placed in line with the shift cam I86 (Figs; 1 and 3) and upon continued rotation of the machine and the cam shaft I32, the cam shaft will be shifted to the right and its cams shifted so that they will cause the pendulum and the welt hooks to operate during the set-up. The raising of the latch I58 and subsequent movewith its surface ment of the roller I42 is such as to permit the roller I42 to fall into position at the open space.

between the various cams on shift cam disks I34 and I36. The cam shaft now shifted to the right, on continued rotation of the machinewill remain in this shifted position until the open space between the cams again comes opposite roller I42,

that is, when somewhat less than one revolution has been made, at which time cam I58 contacts with the locking-out roller I46 and upon continued rotation of the machine, positions the shift roller I42 outwardly so that it is in line with the neutralizing cam I54 and upon continued rotation the .cam shaft I32 will be shifted to the left, or into its neutral position. During this partial revolution, the, chain bump I18 has come out from under the portion I16 of the lever I18 (Fig.

12) and so permits the latch I58, as the shift lock lever I56 is moved away from the latch, to fall downwardly due to the action of its spring I64, and thereby again contact with the surface I68 of the lever I56, in this manner locking the shift mechanism into a position where the neutralizing cams I52 and I54 can hold the cam shaft I32 in its neutral or idle position. When it is desired to shift the cam shaft to the left, as

is necessary prior to the transfer, a high chain bump is racked into position under the end I16 of the lever I18 (Fig. 12), thereby moving the link I68 downwardly, permitting the shift lock lever I56, due to the action of the tension spring I84, to move toward the latch I-58 and contact I82, thereby moving the roller I42 in a direction toward the cam shaft I32 the proper distance to cause the shift cam I88 to be aligned with it, so that upon continued rotation of the cam shaftgthe cam I88 will contact with the roller I42 (Figs. 1 and 3) and shift the cam shaft I32 to the left, or into its transfer position, in which position it will remain for somewhat less than one revolution or until the locking-out cam I58 contacts with the roller I46 which causes the shift lever I38 with its roller I42 to be moved in a direction away from the cam shaft I32 so that the roller is again aligned with the neutralizing cam I52. Upon continued rotation of the machine this cam will contact withthe roller I42, thereby shifting the cam shaft into its neutral position and as the high chain bump has, in the interim, moved out from under the chain lever I18, the latch I58 is drawn downwardly by the action of its spring I64 into a position where it can again engage with the surface I68 of the lock lever I56, and so look the shift lever into its neutral position. I Between each pair of brackets I26 and at the left hand end of the machine between the two brackets I26 and I28, a shaft I98 is supported, free torotate in the brackets. There is a shaft of this kind for every two sections of the machine, that is, the shaft does not extend in one piece throughout that excessive expansion and contraction as would occur in a long shaft, may not interfere with the pendulum lateral adjustment. Rigidly fastened to this shaft are three horizontal supporting lever arms I92 in which there is rigidly fastened a hanger pivot shaft I94, one for each two sections of the machine. Mounted to freely oscillate on the shaft I94 is a swinging frame or hanger I96, one for each section, a sleeve connecting the two outer hubs of the frame into a rigid unit. Forming a rigid part of this sleeve is a sheave wheel I88, one for each section, to which the machine length, in order or more turns around the sheave wheel I98. This tape 288 is supported at the back of the machine (Fig. 4) by an idler 282 and hangs from this idler at the back of the machine, the lower end being connected to a series of counterweights 284. The tape idlers are supported free to rotate on a rod 286 which is carried by extensions from the brackets I26 and I38 and extends throughout the length of the machine.

The resultant action of the counterweight, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, will be to move the swinging frame or hanger toward the right or front of the machine. In order that the counterweights do not normally move the hangers further forward than desired, each of the brackets I26 and I38 rigidly supports a pin 288 to which is fulcrumed for free movement a hanger latch 2I8 -(Fig. 4), the hook end of which engages with an extension 2I2 (Fig. 3) of the hanger I96.

The angular position of the shaft I98 and the hanger supporting arms cam hub 226 rigidly secured to the cam sh'aft I32.

The lever 2I4 is also fitted with an adjustable roller post 228 (Fig. 4) carrying a rigid pin which supports a freely rotatable roller 222. This roller rides on a circular disk 224 also formed on the cam hub 226. Forming a rigid part of the lever .2I4 is an .extension 228 (Fig. 4) to which is fastened a tension spring 238, the other end of which is fastened to a rod 232 extending throughout the machine length and supported in extensions of the brackets I26 and I38.

The assembly just described, therefore, ports the three horizontal supporting levers I92, the shaft I94 and two hangers I96,,the spring 238 holding the lever 2I4 with its roller 222 tightly against the disk 224. The rollers 2I6 and 2" are provided so that when the cam shaft I32 is shifted to the right or left, the cams 2I8 or 2I9 respectively supported by the hub 226 will cause the frame assembly to move up and down.

The several swinging frames or hangers I96 are moved positively toward and away from the press during the operations of taking and of returning the loops to the needles through cam actuated connections from the auxiliary cam shaft I32, a separate actuating mechanism being provided for the actuation of each frame. This mechanism comprises a lever 234 for each section, mounted to swing freely on the shaft I98, and provided at its free end with two follower rolls 236 and 231 which'are mounted on eccentric pivot pins for adjustment with relation to their operating cams indicated respectively at 238 and 239 on a sleeve 248 secured to the cam shaft I32.

The lever 234 also has mounted thereon an adjustable roller post 248 (Fig. 6) which'carries a roller 244 adapted to ride on a circular disk 246 forming a rigid part of the cam hub 248. There is secured to the hub of the lever 234 a depending arm 258 (see Figs. 3 and 4) which is connected by means of a bolt 252 to'a similarly downwardly is fastened a counterweight tape 288 wound oneextending lever arm 254 which is thus adjustably I92 secured thereto for determining the vertical position of the welt Each lever 2I4 is sup- secured to turn as a unit with the cam lever 234. There is also secured to the hub of thelever-23 3, an upwardly extending arm 256 to which is securedv a tension spring 258 which acts to hold the lever and follower rolls mounted thereon in engagement with the cams on the cam shaft I32. The downwardly extending lever arm 25 3 has mounted thereon a latch lever or link 289 which has at its other end a recess 282 adapted for engagement with a pin 268 mounted on a bracket 288 on the hanging frame I98. There is also formed on the latch lever arm or link 250, a curved upwardly extending arm 288 which is provided at its tip with a pin 27!] and is adapted normally to ride on a circular disk 272 on the cam shaft H32. A spring 272 holds the latch lever arm or link 2% down so that the arm 268 rides tightly against the disk 272. The connection between the latch lever arm 288 and depending lever 2556 consists referably of an eccen tric pivot pin 2% which may be turned to secure an adjustment in the position of the latch lever 269 with relation to the lever arm 2543. With this construction and arrangement of the parts, it will be seen that with the secondary cam shaft I32 in the neutral intermediate position illustrated in Fig. 3, the engagement of the curved arm 268 with the disk 272 acts to hold the latch lever in a raised inoperative position. When the cam shaft H2 is shifted either to the right or to the left, the disk 272 rides out from under the arm 288, permitting the latch lever 268 and recess 262 to drop into engagement with the pin 268 on the hanging frame 11% to lock these parts into operating engagement, so that the movements of the hanging frame I 98 toward and away from the press will now be positively controlled by the movement of the cam actuated lever 238.

At the end of a complete revolution of the cam shaft I32, the latch lever 286 is again raised to its inoperative position to permit the movement of the disk 272 under the curved arm 268 as the cam shaft I32 is again returned to its neutral position, by the engagement of the pin 218 with a cam portion of the disk 272 or with a cam disk 218 depending upon the operating position of the cam shaft I32.

At the lower end of each swinging frame or hanger I96, is supported a welt bar 282 to which are rigidly secured a series of welt hooks 283, one being provided to cooperate with each alternate needle. The welt bar 282 is mounted to move freely with relation to the supporting hanger within predetermined limits lengthwise of the needle series, so that the hooks of each section may be readily registered in their proper positions with relation to the needles. For this purpose two guide plates 284 are mounted one at each end of the welt bar 282 to engage with corresponding abutments formed on fixed portions of the machine as the hooks are moved into operative position to guide the hooks accurately into register with the needles. The welt bar is mounted also to permit the hooks to move yieldingly downward with relation to the hanger particularly to secure a predetermined uniform tensioning strain on the initially formed loops on the hooks as the needles move to their extreme low or knockover position, irrespective of any slight errors in the adjustment of the parts or in the length of the yarn kinks measured by the, sinkers in the formation of the loose setting-up course.

As illustrated particularly in Figs. 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 of the drawings, the lower end of each hanger is formed with a split hub 285 in which is which are adjustably secured in rigidly secured a supporting shaft or pin 286. Adjacent the sides of the hub 285 on the shaft 286 are mounted two identical bell-crank levers 281 a predetermined angular position with relation to the hanger I96 by means of clamping bolts 288 which are screwthreaded in the hanger I96 and project through over sized holes in the upper ends of the levers. There are also mounted on the shaft 288 adjacent each end thereof two lever arms 289 which together with a tie rod 290 formed integrally therewith provide a welt hook bar support which is freely movable about the shaft 286 as a pivot. The end portions of the shaft 288 which provide a bearing for the arms of the welt bar support are formed eccentrically of the axis of the shaft, -so that an adjustment of the position of the welt bar relatively to the hanger I96 may be readily obtained by merely varying the angular position of the shaft 288 in the hub 285.

The welt bar is mounted for movement with relation to the support 289 by means of two brackets 292 which are provided at each end of the tie rod 298 and have formed therein T-shaped guideways to engage with correspondingly shaped portions of the welt bar. Stop pins 296 mounted on the welt bar 282 beyond the ends of the guideways serve to limit the travel of the welt bar in either direction on its support.

The angular position normally maintained by the welt bar 282 and its supporting frame with relation to the hanger I96 is determined by the angular position of the bell-crank levers 281 above referred to, which are provided with hori- -zontally extending arms arranged to engage with two positioning pins 295 formed on the inner sides of the lever arms 289,'as best shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Tension springs 296 stretched bea limited sliding tween pins 297 on the hangerIQfi and pins 298 on the arms 289 of the supporting frame tend normally to hold the parts in the operative position shown in Fig. 10. When so desired, the assem bly of the supporting frame 289 and welt bar 282 can be swung in a counterclockwise direction to the inoperative position shown in Fig. 5 for maintenance or for other reasons, where it is held by the springs 296, the lever arms 289 at this time being brought into engagement with two stop pins 299 formed on the back sides of the bellcrank levers 281. v I

The hook bar 282 is slotted, one slot being provided for each pair of needle slots, to form a support for the welt hooks 283, a number of short covers 309 and clamp bolts 3M holding the hooks in the slots of the bar 282 as best shown in Fig. 11.

The guide plates 284 located at each end of the welt hook bar 282 for accurately registering the welt hooks with relation to the needles and other cooperating knitting elements. are constructed and arranged to provide engaging contacts with fixed portions of the machine frame to register the hooks with relation to the knitting elements at several different points in the operations of taking and of transferring the loops back to the needles. Each plate 284 is provided with a downwardly extending arm or end 302 which engages with a bevel designated at 308 on the press edge of the machine to insure that the hooks on their downward movement between the press edge and the needles to take the initial course of loops, will not be caught against the press edge and damaged. During the further downward the bevelled surfaces 304 below parts 3l0 of the plates 284 will engage with two adjustable stationary screws 314 to locate and centralize the welt bar 282 and hooks supported thereon with relation to the needles lengthwise of the needle series. During the operation of transferring the loops back to the needles when the welt hooks are moved laterallytoward the press at a relatively low level, two additional bevelled surfaces designated at 306 on the plates 284 are brought into contact with the positioning screws 3i4 to locate the welt hooks particularly with relation to sinkers and knockover bits.

It will be noted that each of the guide plates 284 has formed on its outeror contact surface,

a cut-away portion 3") which is adapted to pro-- vide substantially .002 or .003 inch clearance between the plates and the guide screws 3 for a position of the welt bar after the hooks have been registered with and have passed between the sinkers. This clearance. enables the hooks after they have been guided between the sinkers to adjust themselves automatically for a maximum freedom of movement between the sinkers and web holders regardless of any slight changes in the positions of the cooperating elements which may be due to-contraction or expansion of the metal, or to other causes.

The instrumentalities or hooks 283 for engaging the initial course of loops at the set-up, and for returning these loops to the needles after the knitting of the welt fabric, as previously men tioned, comprise vertically arranged bifurcated hooks which are arranged, to move' downwardly between the press edge and the needles at the completion of the kinking of the yarn by the jack sinkers to engage and take needle wale kinks of yarn from alternate needles, and thereafter during subsequent knitting to carry-them to the backs of the needles. At the end of the welt turning operation the toward the press and again between the sinkers and knockov'er bits to cause the loops during the subsequent rising movement of the needles to be returned thereto.

Fig. 59 of the drawingsillustrates a preferred form of applicant's hook 283, which, as clearly shown comprises a rectangular shank of uniform width throughout its length to fit closely between adjacent sinkers, and provided at its lower end with two hook-shaped cheeks 301 which are arranged to embrace the needle shank between them, and are provided with pointed tips which are bent inwardly so that they will flt tightly around and to the rear of the needle shank. The bottom end of the implement is drawn out into a point formed by four are arranged to facilitate an accurate register of the hook implements with relation to the correspondingly bevelled press edge and with relation to the two adjacent sinkers and knockover bits during the movements of the hooks with relation thereto. At the base of the slot formed between the two cheek members 301 there is provided a sloping cam middle of the throat formed by the junction of the cheeks 301 with the shank of the implement. A long notch 309 is cut in the upper portion of the hook shank to engage with a corresponding ledge on the welt hook bar 282 to lock the hooks rigidly in position in the bar.

The present machine is provided with the usual jack and dividing sinkers, one jack sinker being providedfor every two needles with the dividing hooks are moved laterally bevelled surfaces which surface 308 which extends from the pointed bottom extremity of the implement to the v sinkers alternating between them. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the dividing sinkers are indicated at 322, the jack sinkers at 324, thebottom and top sinker beds for supporting and guiding the sinkers being indicated at 326 and 328, the usual verge plate for preventing vertical drive of the sinkers at 330, the sinker jacks at 332, and the slur cock at 334. The slur cock is mounted for movement on the slur cock bar 336. A new feature of the present invention consists in the provision of means for holding the jack sinkers against the verge plate after they have kinked their yarn and prior to the advance of the dividing sinkers,in order to prevent any possibility of the welt hooks 283 displacing or breaking the yarn. This mechanism as illustrated particularly in Figs. 1, 4, '7, and 8, consists of a bar 338 (see particularly Figs. '7 and 13) which is pivotally connected to a U-shaped lever 340 by means of a pin 342. so that the bar may swing freely to level the sinkers evenly in theiradvanced positions against the verge plate. Two pins 344 are rigidly secured to the bar 338, and protrude upwardly through clearance holes formed in the lever 340 to limit the amount of the swinging movement permitted tothe bar relatively to the lever 340.

The U-shaped lever 340 is mounted to turn on a pivot pin 346 carried on the upper end of a vertical lever arm 348 which is mounted to turn freely on the back catch bar shaft H4 of' the machine. Secured to the hub of the U-shaped lever 340 is a downwardly extending arm 350 which, has secured thereto a tension spring 352 to maintain the U-shaped lever 340.and sinker bar 338 firmly in engagement with the top sinker plate 320. A laterally extending arm 354 formed integrally with the lever 348, has secured thereto a tension spring 356 which tends to move the lever 348 about its pivot to advance the U-shaped lever 340 and jack bar into engagement with the jack sinkers. The jack bar 338 is normally held in retracted position against the pressure of the spring 356 by means of a latch 358 which engages with a corresponding abutment 360 on the sinker bar 338.

This latch 358 is adjustably fastened to an extension of a hub 362 which is mounted free to oscillate on the back narrowing machine shaft 6, the hub 362 having formed thereon a hook 364 to which is fastened the spring .366 which is at its. lower end connected to a spring hook collar 368, said collar also centralizing the lever 348 in conjunction with a collar 310. .The spring 366 therefore'holds the latch 358 in engagement with the tooth 360, the hub 362 having a long upwardly extending end 312 which at times is caused to engage with a pin 314 extending from the side of one of the welt cams so that-when this pin 31-4 (Fig. 8) contacts with the end of the extension 312, the latch 358 will be lifted against the tension of the spring 366, thereby permitting the U-shaped lever 340 and its assembly of parts, including the bar 338, to move' in a direc tion toward the verge plate 330 through the action of the spring 356, the movement of the bar 336 being timed to take place immediately after 7 the last jack 332 has deposited its sinker against the verge plate at the end of the yarn laying stroke, so that the. spring 356 can effectively hold the jack sinkers solidly against the verge plate 330. The pivotal mounting for the bar 338, as

shown in Fig. 13,-ensures that the bar will automatically level itself with relation to the verge plate 330 and jack and sinker elements engaging 

